She provided soft words of support and comfort to Jamie through the door, same as she did every day. She hoped at some point, she would trust Kate enough to at least open the door and have a face-to-face conversation with her and that eventually Kate might get her into the on-site counseling they provided. She wouldn’t give up.
It was 7:00 p.m. before she left the shelter and she was exhausted as she joined Dev for dinner. She hadn’t been herself for weeks, dealing with nausea and fatigue, and yesterday she asked Big D to take some blood and run a few tests. She saw him daily now that he worked with her at the shelter. Her stomach turned at the food sitting in front of her and she finally knew why, but she still couldn’t believe it. She was thrilled, but scared shitless.
“Any word on Esmeralda?” Kate knew Dev was upset with himself for leaving her at Xavier’s compound, but obviously his only thought had been of her rescue. They hadn’t seen her since. Had she been captured? Had she just run away, knowing how furious Dev was with her? Not that Kate was too happy with the bitch either. Trying to get her killed so she could have her mate. If she ever laid eyes on this witch, she wouldn’t be held responsible for what she’d do. Kate insisted the next witch Dev partnered with be an old hag. And she was—smile—complete with a huge wart on the tip of her nose.
“No. Nothing.” He paused, adding, “I don’t want to talk about her. How was your day, love? You look exhausted.”
She beamed at her wonderful, sexy mate. Ever concerned about her wellbeing. “I’m great. Had a very productive day with a couple of the girls. No progress yet with Jamie, but I hope she’ll come along soon.”
“Good to hear. Don’t think I didn’t notice you’re not eating again. You really need to talk to Big D, Kate. I’m getting worried about you.”
This was it. How would be react? He never talked about wanting kids. She looked at her plate as she spoke. “I did, actually.”
Dev dropped his fork, leaping across the table to pull her into his arms. He was so overprotective.
“Something’s wrong. What’s wrong? I can tell something’s wrong.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow. Pessimist much? Nothing is wrong, Dev. Everything is…wonderful actually.”
“Wonderful? You’re sick all the time. You barely eat. You barely have enough energy for making love. That is not fine. That is not normal.”
“Actually…in my condition, it is.” She watched his face carefully to see if he understood what she was telling him.
“What do you mean, your condition? Vampires don’t get sick, love.”
She pulled away. Men were idiots sometimes. “Oh my God, you are so dense! I’m not sick, Dev. I’m…I’m…” She took a deep breath and spit it out. “I’m pregnant.”
His face would have been funny if she wasn’t scared he was going into shock, so she rushed to explain.
“I know we didn’t talk about kids, but I’m happy about this, Dev. I think it’s a blessing. Big D said it was probably because I was never blooded, but he didn’t know for sure. I don’t really care how it happened anyway. Say some—”
She squealed as he picked her up and spun her around the room. “You’re pregnant? You’re pregnant! Holy fuck, I can’t believe this. I’m going to be a father. How is this possible?”
“It’s a miracle,” she mumbled into his chest. “Dev, you’re making me dizzy. Put me down, please.” He mumbled “sorry” and set her down but didn’t let go.
“Are you happy?” She hated how insecure she sounded. Instead of answering, he kissed her senseless.
When he finally broke free, he looked lovingly into her face and spoke the sweetest words she’d ever heard, causing tears to sting her eyes.
“Happy? Oh, my love…words haven’t been invented yet to describe how I feel. You have stirred up emotions in me I never knew I possessed. I’ve never known true love, until you. I never knew true fear of losing something, until you. I never knew what making love was, until you.”
Tears now streamed freely down Kate’s face as her mate poured his heart out. He gently cupped her cheeks before continuing.
“I’d long dreamed of my Moira, Kate, but my vision paled in comparison to the real you. You’ve made me wish for things I never imagined possible, including a family. This baby is a miracle and I don’t care how it happened; only that it did. You are my entire life, heart and soul, and I don’t know what I did to deserve you or this gift you are giving me, but I’ll not question it. I love you so much, Katherine Marjorie Fallinsworth.”